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PASSING ON CHINESE DANCE TO FUTURE GENERATIONS Lorita Leung From her early life in Shanghai and North Korea in the 1950s, through her years in Hong Kong in the 1960s, to her time in Canada where she emigrated to in the 1970s and still resides today, Lorita Leung has embraced a lifelong career in dance. She received ballet training at a young age and later performed Chinese dance in the army song and dance troupe, and brought her knowledge and skills to Hong Kong’s film and TV industries when she moved to the city. During her seven years in Hong Kong, Leung’s career straddled film and TV; she participated in the choreography of more than a dozen musical films, and she worked as the choreographer for Rediffusion Television’s popular variety show. She was also a dance teacher to many actors and film stars. While Hong Kong’s film and TV industries did not afford her the opportunity to live out her ideal life, Leung fulfilled her dreams of promoting Chinese dance in Canada. In the 1970s she established the Lorita Leung Dance Academy in Vancouver, and subsequently launched classes for the Beijing Dance Academy Graded Chinese Dance Examination. Today, Leung runs the school together with her daughter, as she believes that dance as a part of general education is key to dance being passed down to future generations. 106 When Dance Speaks Lorita Leung 107 young, I was raised by their younger sisters. My paternal grandfather had Date of interview: 19 October 2016 six wives. Looking at the marriages of her sisters, which were also less than Location: Lorita Leung Dance Academy in Vancouver happy, my paternal aunt lied about being 18 when she was 16, and took a Recorded and noted by: Lam Heyee job at a phone company in Shanghai. I had four siblings; my eldest sister married at 17, so I had always longed to become independent rather than rely on my paternal aunt. A strong-willed girl who loved dance, I believed I was about six years old when I developed an interest in dance. My it would be difficult for me to join a dance troupe when I was older, so I maternal aunt took me to see the film The Red Shoes,1 and I fell in love was determined to seize the chance. My paternal grandfather was one of with dance in that moment. When I was in Primary 5 and Primary 6, the richest men in Shanghai at some point, while my father had worked in I studied ballet for a couple years with a renowned ballet teacher from the central bank. My family background did not stand me in good stead in Russia who resided in Shanghai. In 1956, when I was 15, I applied to join China at the time. the song and dance troupe of the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army which was heading for North Korea. I was accepted into the troupe thanks to My time in the army song and dance troupe my ballet training. Meanwhile, I had applied to join a few other dance troupes. The Shanghai Opera and Dance Drama Theatre also offered me I lived in North Korea for two years, during which time I trained and a place, but I had already received the offer from the army, so I decided to performed every day. I also performed along with the troops and gave join them to go to North Korea. Studying dance was not a popular activity them culture lessons. It was the 23rd army and the troops came from in Shanghai at the time. Since my parents passed away when I was very Southern China; we had similar daily life habits and got along well. There were more than 60 people in the troupe; I was the youngest, so I 1. Te Red Shoes, a British flm released in 1948. 108 When Dance Speaks Lorita Leung 109 was nicknamed Xiao Liang (“Little Leung” in Mandarin). Over the past develop their resilience, independence and problem-solving skills. There decades I have stayed in touch with my fellow troupe members, who still were times when I thought it would be a good idea to send my children call me Xiao Liang. As I had come from the city and lived in a household to the army for the training. During my time in North Korea, I did not with maids, it was hard for me to adapt to life in North Korea at first. We have any contact with the locals or visit many places. On the occasional had to get water in a bucket from the river for washing our hands and weekend I would go for a swim in the river in the summer, and I would go faces. At night we had to carry a lamp with us to go to the bathroom, ice-skating or picking maple leaves in the mountains in the winter. People which was one street away from our residence. I also had problems with lived their lives with a simple mind-set in those days. I learnt the meaning my joints in the extremely cold weather. We lived the communal life every of perseverance; I came to understand perseverance is triumph, and one day, and we did everything together: We woke up at just past six or seven must never give up. in the morning, had our breakfast and did our training, rehearsed in the afternoon, did our political learning, gave singing and reading lessons to After the withdrawal of the troops in 1958 (Plate 1), I was transferred to the troops, and performed in the evening. We had three months to curate Harbin where I lived for more than a year. In 1959 I was transferred to and rehearse a show. When we were on tour, many of the troops would the Lanzhou Military Region Song and Dance Troupe, a song and dance walk a few miles just to come and see the performance. Sometimes the troupe of a larger scale. My time in Lanzhou was a change from the previous show was staged in a hall; other times it was performed on a makeshift experiences I had. We talk about racial discrimination in the West, but outdoor stage. The programmes mainly consisted of North Korean dance people in China also hold prejudices against those who come from other and mini-dance dramas. We also performed popular programmes from regions. I was a southerner who found herself alone in the northwest, and the Mainland and our own works, as well as drama and singing. It was I was seen as a young lady from Shanghai and an outsider. The three years a tough yet joyful life, and it was excellent training for young people to I spent there were very challenging for me. It was a different environment 110 When Dance Speaks Lorita Leung 111 where the locals had different mind-sets than mine; they thought I was not Plate 1: A China Central Television news photo of a North Korean girl putting a red competent in a lot of things and that I was not intellectually sophisticated. scarf on an 18-year-old Lorita Leung (left), when the Chinese People’s Volunteer The days were rough, but I learnt to endure them and focus on doing my Army arts troupe received a warm farewell best, thinking I would one day leave this place. During my time there, I from the North Korean people when they withdrew from North Korea in 1958. discovered I had a flair for teaching. There were many local organisations From Lorita Leung’s personal collection. like schools and workers’ clubs which invited us to curate performances for them. I was assigned to teach the would-be performers, and through that experience I realised I was a gifted teacher. My students performed well, and I felt a strong sense of achievement at seeing them progress from being complete amateurs to falling in love with dance. It made me realise that being an actor was not the only path for someone who loved dance. My years in Hong Kong film and TV In 1961 and 1962, tension on the Sino-Soviet border began to heighten. The volunteer army was incorporated into the official army; there was a selection process by which members who were deemed politically loyal were chosen to stay in the army. I was fortunate to be selected and transferred to the Lanzhou University College of Art, where I took up the post of 112 When Dance Speaks Lorita Leung 113 dance teacher and taught Chinese dance. There were subsequent changes to director of the academy Mr Yuen, and I taught some dance classes there. our placements; I was assigned to another post in Shanghai, and I accepted Some time later, Cathay-Keris Films announced auditions for new actors. I it as I was willing to return to the city. After my return to Shanghai, I was about to apply when someone from the company told me the auditions taught dance at the China Welfare Institute Children’s Palace. Meanwhile, were rigged. He knew about my background in dance, and introduced me the then newly formed Shanghai Dance School also made me a job offer. to the Southern Drama Group2 (the Southern) of Shaws (Shaw Brothers However, I had decided to leave China and move to Hong Kong, since my [Hong Kong] Limited). They were hiring teachers, and Ku Wen-chung was eldest sister and my then boyfriend were living in Hong Kong. At the time, the person-in-charge of the department.

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